Department for Transport

London-Exeter Railway Line

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the economic, environmental and social effects of converting the railway between Exeter and Salisbury to double-track throughout its length.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Network Rail identified possible schemes for upgrading the line between Exeter and Salisbury in its Wessex and Western Route Studies, published in August 2015.   Schemes included the creation of additional double track sections, in order to improve journey times and route capacity. The costs and benefits of full line re-doubling were not assessed.   Network Rail stated that the schemes it had evaluated could be an option for delivery in Control Period 7 (2025-2029) or beyond.

*No heading*

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to requiring mileage to be declared at the same time as road tax is being renewed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Mileage information can be declared voluntarily to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Consideration has been given to making it mandatory for mileage information to be supplied when a vehicle is licensed or when there is a change of keeper. As the DVLA cannot verify the accuracy of any mileage data provided at these stages, there are no plans to make the requirement mandatory as part of the process of collecting vehicle excise duty.   Mileage information is collected however when a vehicle undergoes a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) roadworthiness test (MOT), when testers have the opportunity to record the mileage shown on the odometer.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Employment Tribunals Service

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the number of applications to employment tribunals of the increase in the qualifying period of employment from one year to two since it was introduced.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Changes in the number of claims for unfair dismissal cannot easily be attributed to the increase in the qualifying period because of other changes to the employment tribunal system.

Packaging

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the final report on the review of the enforcement of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 in respect of copycat packaging.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We intend to publish the Report in the next few weeks.

Overseas Students

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimates they have made of the proportion of international students from outside the European Union who have graduated from United Kingdom universities between 2005 and 2010 who remained within the United Kingdom (1) one year, (2) two years, and (3) five years, after graduation.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested is not available. Currently net migration of students is measured via the International Passenger Survey (IPS) which estimates volumes of students arriving and leaving, based on their stated main reason for entering the UK at time of arrival (which may not correspond with their visa) and their stated answer to the question of why they originally came to the UK when surveyed at the time of departure. It does not measure the type of institution attended, the level of course studied, whether the student graduated or how long it has been between finishing the course and departing from the UK. Once exit check data are available (from Autumn/ Winter 2015), it may be possible to start using visa data to estimate the balance of those coming, those staying legitimately and those departing. However to get a full picture may take several years and will depend heavily on the ability to match the exit data with visa data. The data will not take into account whether a student graduated or not.

Israel: Arms Trade

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the partial embargo imposed in 2014 on military supplies and equipment for Israel has been lifted; what was the reason for this decision; and whether the matter was considered by the Cabinet.

Lord Maude of Horsham: There was no partial embargo imposed in 2014 on military supplies and equipment for Israel. However, a review of licences in circulation at the outbreak of hostilities in July 2014 identified 12 export licences the Government would suspend, as a precautionary measure, in the event of a resumption of significant hostilities. The Government was concerned that in these circumstances it would be unable to clarify whether the export licensing criteria were being met. This was announced on 12 August 2014.   The results of a further review were announced on 14 July 2015 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-export-licensing-procedures-for-israel) and concluded that 11 months after the establishment of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, there was now sufficient information from a wide variety of sources to apply standard export licensing procedures using the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria without any additional measures such as the precautionary measure adopted in August 2014.   The specific details of the review were not considered by the Cabinet. This is because export licensing policy is set by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. In setting this policy the Secretary of State always seeks and takes into account advice from other Cabinet colleagues, including the Foreign and Defence Secretaries.

Small Businesses: Competition

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to support small businesses through changes to competition law.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Through the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 and the establishment of the Competition and Markets Authority, we have ensured that businesses of all sizes, including small businesses, benefit from a simpler competition regime designed to provide greater certainty and improve the speed of decisions.   In addition, when our reforms of private actions for competition damages and the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) rules come into force on 1 October they will assist small businesses who currently find it too costly to seek compensation for breaches of competition law. These include a cost-capped ‘fast track’ procedure to enable small businesses to challenge anti-competitive behaviour, and voluntary redress schemes to encourage faster, easier access to redress.

Construction: Equal Opportunities

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage diversity in the construction and property sectors.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is working to improve the diversity and inclusiveness of the construction sector through the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). Actions include a new CLC led image and recruitment campaign for the sector, the CITB Fairness Inclusion and Respect initiative and CITB’s work with Be Onsite. More widely we have encouraged industry participation in wider initiatives such as Your Life and Think, Act, Report.

Department for International Development

Syria: Refugees

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking regarding the increase in reported cases of typhoid amongst Palestinian refugees in Syria.

Baroness Verma: The UK has been supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East’s (UNRWA) to ensure that the needs of highly vulnerable Palestinians are addressed inside Syria and in neighbouring countries. To date, the UK has allocated over £38 million to UNRWA to provide food parcels, relief items, hygiene packs, education and cash assistance for Palestinian refugees affected by the violence in Syria and the region. This includes £5 million of un-earmarked funding towards UNRWA’s appeal in Syria in 2015, which allows UNRWA to allocate funding to priority areas.   In August 2015, UNRWA was able to provide basic healthcare in Yalda on four occasions, treating 54 suspected cases of typhoid. UNRWA also distributed 400,000 water purification tablets provided by UNICEF.

Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the European Commission’s statement on 11 September affirming that female war rape victims must have access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services including abortion is in accordance with United Kingdom government policy.

Baroness Verma: The statement from the European Commission is consistent with UK policy.

Syria: Refugees

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Development Assistance Committee codes they will use to report on United Kingdom official development assistance allocated to local councils to support Syrian refugees.

Baroness Verma: All UK spend in line with the OECD Development Assistance Committee’s (DAC) directives on in-donor refugee costs are reported using the type of aid code ‘H02 – Refugees in donor countries’ and purpose code ‘93010 - Refugees in donor countries’.

Syria: Overseas Aid

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that targeted aid reaches civilians in communities and towns under siege in Syria.

Baroness Verma: The UK is deeply concerned that, according to UN figures, 422,000 people currently live in besieged areas in Syria. DFID works with trusted humanitarian organisations that endeavour to assist these populations and others in hard-to-reach areas.  The UK strongly condemns and calls for an end to the unlawful denial of access to impartial humanitarian partners. We have been instrumental in securing the passage of three UN Security Council Resolutions – 2139, 2156 and 2191 – demanding that all parties respect international humanitarian law and allow unhindered humanitarian access.

Syria: Refugees

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the merits of developing a Marshall Plan to assist Syria’s neighbours in meeting the humanitarian needs of civilians displaced by the conflict in Syria.

Baroness Verma: To date, the UK has pledged over £1 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region. The UK has allocated £519 million to support refugees in the region and vulnerable host communities to date, including £279 million in Lebanon and £183 million in Jordan. In Turkey, the UK has allocated £29 million for programmes supporting Syrian refugees including food, shelter and primary healthcare. The UK is also working in partnership with multiple Turkish institutions on targeted projects to build their capacity to tackle irregular migration.  We have been working intensively in recent weeks to lobby the EU and Member States to develop a substantial package of measures on migration and economic development between now and 2020. The UK has called for a €10 billion development–focused EU migration package focusing on upstream work in source and transit countries to address the lack of jobs and opportunities for those who rightly aspire to a better life. The UK government is working with partners right across Europe to ensure that, collectively, we are able to deliver a significant and comprehensive development response to this crisis.

*No heading*

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to assist countries that receive United Kingdom development support in addressing non-communicable diseases.

Baroness Verma: In countries in which DFID provides health assistance, we aim to improve the provision of basic health services for the poorest so that these countries are better able to address a broad range of health problems including non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We do this through strengthening health systems, improving health worker capacity and increasing access to essential medicines and equipment. With this focus on strengthening health services, developing countries will be better equipped to address a broad range of health problems including non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We are also supporting specific efforts in developing countries to reduce the prevalence of NCDs, for example:Hepatitis B immunisation that prevents liver cancer (through support for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (GAVI);Work on the Safe Cookstoves which will have an impact on the prevalence of NCDs;Research on cardiovascular and mental health issues.

*No heading*

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure humanitarian access to civilian communities in Iraq in need of aid who are caught up in the fighting.

Baroness Verma: The UK's humanitarian programme in Iraq is delivered through the partners we judge are best able to access civilian communities caught up in a complex conflict. We work with the UN and other humanitarian actors that abide strictly by the key humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, so they can gain the acceptance of parties to the conflict and access vulnerable groups. The UK is also the leading donor to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund which supports a number of national NGOs who typically have better access too hard to reach areas of Iraq.  To date, the UK has provided £59.5m of humanitarian assistance across Iraq.

*No heading*

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of Palestinians amongst refugees fleeing Syria.

Baroness Verma: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates that 80,000 Palestinian refugees have left Syria since the onset of the conflict; 44,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria are confirmed in Lebanon and 15,800 are confirmed in Jordan, with the remainder in Egypt (5,000), Turkey and beyond.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

*No heading*

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend fully to honour Article 4 of the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World’s Heritage in respect of any future A303 dualling scheme at Stonehenge; and if not, whether they intend to withdraw as a signatory to the World Heritage Convention.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: This Government will continue to honour its obligations under article 4 of the World Heritage Convention regarding the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. We are committed to working with UNESCO and its advisory bodies to ensure that the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site is taken into consideration in any forthcoming road scheme. We will be closely monitoring the development of any such scheme as it progresses.

HM Treasury

Public Sector Debt

Lord Kinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each year from 2003–4 to 2014–15 inclusive, (1) what was the national debt, expressed in (a) monetary terms, and (b) as a percentage of gross domestic product, and (2) what interest was paid on that debt, expressed in (a) monetary terms, and (b) in per capita terms.

Lord Bridges of Headley: In 2010 the coalition government inherited a deficit of 10.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) – the largest since the Second World War. With such a high deficit, it is inevitable that debt has continued to rise. Over the last parliament the government made substantial progress towards stabilising the public finances, halving the deficit from its post-war peak to 5 per cent of GDP in 2014-15. The Office for Budget Responsibility have forecast that debt as a percentage of GDP peaked in 2014/15, and this year will fall for the first time in 14 years as a result of the government’s actions.   The table below provides Public Sector Net Debt (excluding public sector banks) and debt interest expenditure figures for each year in the period 2003/04 to 2014/15. For net debt, the figures are provided in both nominal terms and as a percentage of GDP; for debt interest, the figures are given in nominal terms and pounds sterling per capita.  Public Sector Net Debt1Debt Interest2 £ billion% of GDP£ billion£ per capita2003/04394.231.822.03672004/05449.234.424.64072005/06492.035.526.34322006/07529.336.228.64662007/08561.536.931.25052008/09727.749.231.55062009/10959.862.231.65032010/111102.568.846.67362011/121192.072.349.77802012/131300.076.848.97622013/141403.279.148.77532014/151486.580.845.26961: Excluding public sector banks; by convention, GDP is a 12 month average centred at the financial year end. Source: ONS.2: The per capita figure is calculated by dividing debt interest in £'s by the ONS estimate of the size of the UK population at the financial year end. Note that the population estimate for 2014/15 is a forecast, based on the latest ONS projections. Source: ONS.

Inheritance Tax: Siblings

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 9 September (HL Deb, cols 1427–9), whether they will publish full details of how the family home allowance announced in the 2015 Budget will affect siblings who have joint ownership of their home.

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 9 September (HL Deb, cols 1427–9), what is the position of siblings who live together in jointly owned property under current inheritance tax laws.

Lord Bridges of Headley: All individuals have an inheritance tax threshold (or ‘nil rate band’), currently £325,000, which is the value below which an estate does not have to pay any inheritance tax. The Summer Budget 2015 announced that from April 2017, a new additional transferable residence nil-rate band of £175,000 is being phased in for individuals who leave their home on death to their children, grandchildren or other direct descendants. Together with the existing nil-rate band this means that most individuals will have an effective inheritance tax threshold of up to £500,000 each.   The long standing spouse exemption means that any transfers of assets between spouses or civil partners are exempt from inheritance tax. The Government has no plans to change the inheritance tax treatment of long-term cohabiting and co-dependent siblings.   Where a property is jointly owned by siblings, the individual sibling’s share of the property will be included in their estate for inheritance tax purposes. Each individual’s estate is considered separately and the position for siblings is the same as for other co-habiting individuals.   Full details of the legislation relating to the new residence allowance announced in the Summer Budget 2015 can be found at clause 9 of the Summer Finance Bill. Guidance will be published nearer the time that the new allowance comes into effect.

Taxation: Soft Drinks

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take in response to the recently introduced taxes on sugary drinks by the governments of Mexico, France, Finland and Hungary.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Government has no plans to introduce new taxes on sugary drinks. The Government is committed to using a range of approaches to promote health outcomes, and will publish a Childhood Obesity Strategy by the end of the year.

Northern Ireland Office

*No heading*

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the Irish Republic stating that it cannot take part in, or attend, Strand 1 talks with the parties in Northern Ireland, as agreed in the Belfast Agreement 1998.

Lord Dunlop: The involvement of the Irish Government in cross-party talks is in accordance with the established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs and the 1998 Belfast Agreement. A commitment always to uphold the three-stranded approach was also contained in the Government’s Northern Ireland manifesto at the General Election.

*No heading*

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the amount of each year’s budget for the Northern Ireland Parades Commission since its establishment.

Lord Dunlop: The Parades Commission is responsible for the management of its own budget and, in line with the Public Processions Act (NI) 1998, it is also responsible for the publication of its Annual Report and Accounts. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is responsible for ensuring that the annual report is laid in Parliament. The total expenditure for the Parades Commission for each year since its establishment in 1998 is listed below:   Financial Year (£000s)   2015/16 810 (projected) 2014/15 969 2013/14 916 2012/13 1,373 2011/12 958 2010/11 1,023 2009/10 1,032 2008/09 1,130 2007/08 1,062 2006/07 1,740 2005/06 1,460 2004/05 1,166 2003/04 1,292 2002/03 1,296 2001/02 1,308 2000/01 1,138 1999/2000 1,055 1998/99 1,147

*No heading*

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed, or plan to discuss, with the Northern Ireland Parades Commission the case for making public, along with each decision it makes, (1) a full disclosure of evidence received, including from whom it was received, and (2) all other factors involved in the Commission’s determination; and if not, why not.

Lord Dunlop: This Government has had no discussions with the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland regarding the disclosure of evidence received, or on any other factors which are into account when making determinations.This is an operational matter for the Commission acting independently of Government.